Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners.I beg you, assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the “medicine of God” I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul and the ills that afflict my body. I especially ask of you the favor (here mention your special intention), and the great grace of purity to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Then Raphael[ called the two of them privately and said to them, “Bless God and acknowledge him in the presence of all the living for the good things he has done for you. Bless and sing praise to his name. With fitting honor declare to all people the deeds of God. Do not be slow to acknowledge him Tobit 12:6
Saint Raphael is associated with a variety of things, all because of the Book of Tobit. He’s mainly known as a healing angel because he created a cure to heal Tobit of his blindness. He is also one of the patron saints for travel because he’s Tobias’s traveling companion. And he’s the patron saint of happy meetings and matchmaking, since he planned for Tobias to marry Sarah.
But did you know that Saint Raphael is also the patron saint for those who struggle with nightmares? This is because Sarah was plagued with a living nightmare: a demon who killed all of her previous husbands on their wedding night. She also struggled with thoughts of suicide because she felt like she was shaming her family by the lousy reputation and mudslinging others were putting upon her.
Thankfully, Raphael was able to help Sarah with her problem. By advising Tobias and Sarah to pray first and delay the consummation of their marriage, and using a special cure from the fish, the demon was driven out and Tobias and Sarah were able to celebrate their marriage with Sarah’s family for two whole weeks.
Many cradle Catholics, such as myself, often ask our guardian angel to be with us when we sleep. If you struggle with nightmares or can’t sleep at night because of depression and anxiety, ask Saint Raphael to help you out. We all have our own demons that we fight on a frequent basis. The wonderful thing about having a devotion to the angels is that we don’t have to fight alone.
To Jesus through Mary-Monique Ocampo
